Purpose:
to maintain the integrity of seed used for native Valley Ponderosa reestablishment efforts by:
- Limiting importation of cones and / or seed from outside the Willamette Valley Collection Area.
- Minimize the chance for collections from non-native ponderosa's growing in the Valley.
Collection Area:
The Willamette Valley is considered a single Ponderosa Pine seed zone. The area is under 1200 feet elevation and includes old Seed Zones 261, 262 and the west ½ of 042. There is also a narrow strip along the east side of zones 251 and 252. The Forest Tree Seed Zones of Western Oregon (1996) defines a more restricted zone (11) most notably omitting the area west of the Willamette River.
Guidelines for identifying native ponderosa:
- Select trees from areas where there are many scattered ponderosas, even better if variable age classes are present.
- Larger i.e. older trees are more likely to be native, but not always.
- Even in areas of native ponderosa there may be foreign source plantings.
- Avoid obvious plantations (i.e. trees of the same age in rows).
- Avoid yard trees especially if in rows along a fence line or driveway.
- Numbers 4 & 5 are no issue if there is dependable verification that seedlings were from a native valley source.
Certification:
The OSU Seed Certification Service provides several certification levels. The most applicable to Valley Ponderosa is Source Identified. For additional information contact, Oregon Seed Certification Service, 031 Crop Science Building, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-3003. Phone (541) 737-4513.
